Numerous fishing lures have been taught which provide the user with the ability to impart an erratic or vibrant lure path. One such device is disclosed by Barnhart in U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,054. However, in order to control the lateral motion of the lure, fishermen have been required to bend the eye hook to the left or to the right to make the lure swim to the left or to the right, respectively, as it is retrieved. This is commonly referred to as tuning the lure. The process often involves over-bending the eye with pliars and then correcting the bend by trial and error until a desired lure path is achieved. Excessive manipulation of the eye hook weakens the metal material. Peterson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,109 teaches an alternative method of tuning a lure. His device includes a forward beak portion which is bent to regulate the path of the lure. However, this method is subject to the shortcomings of the method discussed above. That is, the lure must be tuned by trial and error and excessive bending of the beak portion eventually weakens it.
An important object of the invention, therefore, is the provision of a lure which can be set by the user to follow a controlled path upon retrieval.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a lure which is designed to be set by the user to swim to the left or to the right without requiring the deformation of any part of the lure.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a tuning mechanism for a fishing lure which may be set precisely to follow a predictable path, not requiring trial and error to achieve that path.